Farmland Atlas · county record

Cass County, Iowa

Cass County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $259 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,221 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 179.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19029. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cass County runs $259 per acre, up 19.9 percent from 2016 to 2026. Census value of land and buildings stood at $8,221 per acre in 2022, after a 39.5 percent rise from 2017 to 2022, or 6.9 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 2.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 179.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 120.4 in 2012. Heat and drought is the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 52 percent, and its share by period runs 13 percent, 35 percent, 59 percent, then 54 percent. Wind operating capacity is 489.3 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$259/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 41st lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$8,221/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 32nd lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.64%
$217 dry rent ÷ $8,221 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
179.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 200.4
IA median 190.1 · 21st lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.65
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 17th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
47%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 40th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$156$259 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$259/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.9%nominal, $216 to $259
Pasture, 2026$88/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,221/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,464/ac
Census 2017$5,895/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+39.5%+6.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.64%$217 ÷ $8,221; cropland 86% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024174.0217.0188.4median 179.2

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025179.2 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025200.4 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 120.4 bu/ac67% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.5 bu/ac a year±2.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.073.840.391.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$1.65
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.56$105.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 31
Worst year2012ratio 3.84
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 52% · price decline (revenue policies) 23% · excess moisture 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025280

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025150 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200028 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202530 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 63.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.06 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 88% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202243% of cropland111,272 ac
Farmed no-till, 202272% of cropland185,355 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland14,137 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202157223,33513,761

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 202513,761 ac5.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20285,241 ac38% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$231/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 489.3 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202246,101+10.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202247%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cass County$259$8,221179.2$1.65
Adair County$237$7,226169.2$2.95
Adams County$232$6,476—$2.08
Audubon County$302$9,544190.1$2.05
Montgomery County$248$7,044186.7$1.33
Pottawattamie County$255$8,718192.4$2.94
Shelby County$270$9,443190.5$2.91
Median next door$252$7,972190.1$2.50

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Cass County, Iowa. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/iowa/cass-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.